User Reviews

Slightly hazy golden pour with thin cap of white. Aroma hints of lemon, slight funk and maybe a touch of candi sugar. Flavor is similar with some light sour notes of citrus, and a decent malt sweetness. Nothing about this beer is overly dominant. Very tasty and very balanced with a slightly tart finish. One of the best I've tried for the style.

When fresh this is a very good saison. Admittedly a touch sweeter than I like and I think is necessarily appropriate for the style, but still an outstanding and well crafted beer. GI has a nice yeast strain they use in these beers that goes a long way to setting it apart from its American made saison brethren.

Whats interesting is how this bottle develops with some age. The sweetness really takes over and the yeast becomes subdued. It actually takes on some granny smith apple/white wine flavors that are very good, but tend to depart from the traditional saison character.

Saison DuPont will always be the gold standard for saisons but Sofie is no slouch. Its still an outstanding beer in its own right.

Appearance--Pours a pleasant hazy but not cloudy champagne color. Very little head that quickly dissipates, but persistent lacing throughout.

Aroma--Not unpleasant, but perhaps "off" for the style. Citrus, wine, and pepper aromas, but lacking in the yeast and funk departments normally hallmarks of the style.

Taste--Green apple, citrus, and wine notes, providing pleasant tartness without bitterness. Crisp and very pronounced dry finish. Very well balanced, though it doesn't get a "5" only because the "funk" I was looking for was a bit lacking.

Mouthfeel--One of the best "finishes" of any beer I've ever tasted. Very dry for the style, but in a perfect way. Combined with a champagne-like "bubble," it is simply outstanding.

Though lacking the complexity and character of others, I can't say anything negative about this. The feel and finish combined with the pleasant tartness is spot on for me.

Pours a clear straw yellow with a foamy, 2 inch white head. Beautiful saison, with intense bubbling throughout. Smell is heavy Belgian yeast, spice, and citrus finish. Tart fruity flavor, notes of grape, pear, and orange. Slight vanilla touch on the finish. Very dry, very crisp mouthfeel. Definitely one of the most refreshing beers in the style, and one I will come back to.

12 oz bottle poured into tulip leaves a beautifully hazy, straw color beer with one finger of white foam at top. Bubbles race to top of glass and the head sticks around for awhile. Smell of lemon and fresh cut grass. Taste is lemon peel, pepper, and vanilla notes. Very dry and tart as advertised. This beer has always been a standout for me, one I return to frequently and it never disappoints.

Poured cold from 12-ounce bottle into wine glass. Hazy golden yellow, brilliant white head, lots of sticky lacing. Aromas of typical Belgian yeast, spice, citrus, and a hint of vanilla. The citrus character becomes more pronounced as the beer warms to cellar temperature. Light malt character, with big flavors of orange zest and yeast funk and a little vanilla and a hint of tartness. Finishes clean and dry, with a little orange-zest bitterness on the aftertaste. An outstanding beer worthy of its classically beautiful label.

Bottled on 25 Feb '15. Poured into a wide mouth glass. A cloudy light yellow color with a 3-finger head that dissipates very slowly. Has a very fruity and tart taste. Not a guzzler...just sip and enjoy. Definitely one of the best in this style beer.

Served in a tulip glass. Hazy yellow in color with a massive white head. The foamy, frothy, billowing stand hung around til the cows came home. Spumy lacing dripping down the sides of the glass.

Peppery and earthy hops to the nose, with orange zest and juice. This spicy, lively character is counterpoint to a doughy malt, late herbal roundness, and a tad of brett funk. White pepper, rosemary, barnyard, hay, and even a slight berry impression add to this incredibly complex aroma.

Fiercely peppery and orange with a woodsy, vanilla finish. Orange and lemon zest, herbs, and a pleasant twang from the wine barrels make up the aftertaste. Fantastic. That sourness is clean, a beautiful complement to the hay notes and the citrus liveliness. Not much in the way of hop character and bitterness.

Not heavy in the body, but pleasantly creamy in the feel. Tangy-ness and a very dry palate impression on the finish. Very good sipper.

A delicious beer that I'll return to whenever I can. Refreshing, but substantial in flavor. Great wild Saison character mixes beautifully with wonderful Belgian yeast notes and the imparted wine-barrel quality.

2016 vintage
Bubbly, slight haze to the straw gold color. Tower of white foam 3" high. Dissipates quick.
Sweet and sour funky yeast, wild like aroma upfront. Tart lemmon zest, Sour wheat, herbal mix with minor sweet fruit edge. Very strong.
First impression of the feel and flavor is, DRY. Tart, sour yeast, once again, Brett-ish yeast very wild and funky. A very green grassy hop after taste. Dry wheat, sour, citric fruit and a long, bitter, dry, grassy finish. Just perfect for a Farmhouse style.
Americanized Farmhouse/Raison styles usually don't touch the authentic Belgian versions, but damn if this doesn't. As a lover of this style and flavor profile, I consider this one of the more complex, well executed versions on the market. It's all about the yeast! Love the slightly vanilla touch in the finish, makes it dry, then smooth! Great feel.

Wow, just popped open a 3 1/2 year old Sofie (2013, Feb. Batch). I look at the murky, bubbling, golden color topped with a nice, full, 1 inch sparkling head and give a bow and a toast for the effort to let her ferment that long.
It smells sweet but not strong at all. Grapefruit and lemon notes, again not over powering.
Mouth too is light.
What an honor to slowly sipbthis top-shelf Belgium Ale.

T: lightly tart, thick and wheaty, mild fruity and bubblegum esters. A touch of bready sweetness, drying on the mid palate. A little lingering phenolic note on the end with some very mild noble hop hanging around.

M: lighter side of medium, with ample carbonation, and some lingering slickness.

O: this is an outstanding summertime Belgian. I think this is better than Tank 7, not as good as Hennepin. Or maybe as good as Hennepin, but milder; and sometimes that is what you want. Good for an occasional change up, and worth seeking out to try.

Not a bad beer at all yet nothing stupendous. Aside from looks and smell, the beer seems rather weak and one-dimensional with no depth or exquisite flavors. The mouthfeel adds to the blandness with a flat and uneven quality.

Pours a crystal clear straw color with a one finger white head that hangs around as a nice cap of foam. Aroma is yeast, earth, funk, must, floral, and pepper spice. Taste follows with yeast, peach/pear, earth, grass, floral notes, a little bit of barnyard funk/must, pepper spice. Mouthfeel is thin to medium and a bit oily, with a nice sparkle of carbonation in the middle and end to scrub the palate. Overall, this is a very nice saison/farmhouse ale. I would like to see a little pronouncement of each flavor, as they are a bit muddied together, but still very nice.

Charming light lemon yellow color with thick white cap that settles into a thin cover leaving lacing behind as the drink is enjoyed.

Aroma of gentle citrus laced with mild spice. There is some character behind this that I will call fresh yeast because it doesn't really strike me as malt and the hops are hidden beyond my limited sniffing ability.

Taste is like biting into a ripe but tart piece of citrus from the Mediterranean area. Rounded and complex but oh so subtle. Tartness remains throughout and even lingers in the aftertaste but it's a nice tartness. There's nothing bold about this beer but you certainly notice you're drinking something that's a cut above average.

Texture is as subtle as the flavors.

In drinking this beer I'm thinking it would go well with paella. It also went well with the bacon cheeseburgers we had for lunch but then anything goes well with bacon cheeseburgers. The aroma of the empty glass has a wine influence but I can't say I noticed it that much in the flavors. Mine was a 2015 bottling (not intentionally cellared, just overlooked) so I can't compare it to a fresh one but it's certainly not over the hill. Just a nice, glad I had that sensation.

No label information. Brewed in the style of a Farmhouse Ale, available in 12 oz. bottled 4 packs and in 750ml. bottles. This is the 2013 vintage release.

Poured from a 750ml. bottle to a tulip glass.

(Appearance) Moderate gusher upon opening. Pours a pearl-white head of a frothy foam consistency over a densely hazy golden yellow body with a stream of lively carbonation. Retention is very good and lacing is dense and clingy. 4.5

(Taste) Largely echoes the aroma of this beer, albeit slightly softer on flavor overall. Simple softly sweet pale malt body, fruity yeast character with an equally potent spiciness on the finish. Overall, slightly tangy with some slight funk. Fairly dry, slightly less malt sweetness than the aroma suggested. Very enjoyable, but not gushing with character as much as anticipated from the aroma. 4

(Mouthfeel) Texture is slick, silky, lightly chewy, frothy, medium dry. Carbonation is moderate, generating a medium frothiness and a mildly crisp finish. Body is medium for the style, shy of medium overall. Balance is slightly peppery spicy and drying over sweet. Alcohol presence is mild and there are no off characters. 4

(Overall) A very favorable saison that is not the least bit impacted by a few years' age. A bit better balanced than other American examples, with a decent amount of malt sweetness remaining, yet the yeast profile is nicely rounded, generating lots of fruit and spiciness, without either dominating the flavor of this beer alone. Very drinkable and overall very enjoyable. A great American-brewed saison option. 4

Pours a hazy light straw yellow. The nose is of Belgian yeast, sweet corn banana and pepper. Taste of banana, fruit leather, white pepper and yeasty. Nice dry mouthfeel that leaves you wanting another sip. Straight forward review. I love saisons and this one is right up there with the best.

The beer poured a cloudy straw color. The thick white head thinned out rather quickly but never fully disappeared. No visible carbonation. I get a strong orange and lemon peel smell followed by a slight peppery aroma. There is also a slight sweet cream smell. The beer taste is short and crisp. I get a mixture of the citrus fruits, a slight pepper spiciness, and a soft sweet cream flavor to balance it all out.

Pours a straw colored, slightly hazy gold with copious white head and sticky lacing. Smells is pungent with hints of lemon, citrus, funky barn/outdoorsy smell, some woody notes, yeast and perhaps a bit of white wine that spilled on a tablecloth and allowed to dry.
Taste is semi sweet, with citrus notes of orange and lemon up front and mixed with peppery notes and hints of banana, cloves. A pleasant balance of sweet and funky tartness. Medium bodied with copious carbonation and a fairly clean finish. ABV well hidden.
Overall, this is a solid saison – a easily quaffable beer with just the right amount of funk to be enjoyed by those (like myself) have not graduated to the wild beers. A great beer – comparable in price and quality to Ommegang’s Hennepin.
Great with Chinese or Indian food – the perfect palate cleansing compliment.